YouTube Remix could mean the end of Google Play Music

Google Play Music could go silent as soon as this year, Droidlife reports.

Jason Cipriani/CNET

Google Play Music's swan song may be near.

If Google finally launches YouTube Remix, a rumored music subscription service, it will retire its 7-year-old music streaming service, Droidlife reported Tuesday. That could come as soon as the end of the year, with Google Play Music users being pushed onto the new service, a source tells the site.

Google's YouTube noted that it had previously announced the combination of YouTube Music and Google Play Music product teams but nothing about retiring Google Play Music.

"Music is very important to Google so it's critical we have one offering that meets the needs of consumers and artists," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. "Nothing will change for users today, and we'll provide plenty of notice before any changes are made."

Remix, which would feature on-demand streaming and incorporate video clips from YouTube, was expected to launch in March, Bloomberg reported in December. The still as-yet-unannounced service would mark Google-parent Alphabet's third attempt to challenge rivals Apple and Spotify.

Google introduced an audio-only streaming service called Google Play Music in 2011. Three years later, Google launched YouTube Music Key, a subscription service that offered music videos and ad-free songs on YouTube for $10 a month. Google changed the name to YouTube Red in 2015 and expanded it to all kinds of YouTube videos.

YouTube has a long way to catch up with Apple and Spotify, though. Spotify has more than 71 million paying users, while Apples Music has about 38 million subscribers.